Of Nightmares and Kings
by Baird Crevan
Summary: After the Ceremonial Battle that allowed the Pharaoh's spirit to enter the afterlife, Yugi thought he had said goodbye to his friend for good. But something strange is happening to famous duelists everywhere, and Yugi is reunited with his old friend; but things have gone horribly wrong. UPDATE: Pegasus, Seto and Atem, and Mai
1. Silent Depression

A/N: Recently, after watching a rerun of Yu-Gi-Oh! on the WB (or CW?) I obsessed over the show. I needed to relive every great moment of the series with Yami and his evolution into the Pharaoh, and even then I wasn't satisfied. I'm bursting with ideas and as it often happens with me- I have to write it out. I'm not really in this fandom; I've jumped from Gargoyles, to Transformers, and now to Yu-Gi-Oh! and I don't presume to know most of the conventions (I'm learning about all the shipping names and even then I'm kind of lost). Will this feature shipping? Perhaps, I'm not quite sure yet.

Essentially, if you are looking for a continuation of the original series, that's what I'm trying to accomplish. I try to make everything believable in the established universe as if it could just be another episode or movie made afterward. I plan to update weekly, but I tend to update more than that because I get excited from reviews. Did I mention reviews are like crack? They're delicious. 3

Please don't hate me for using the English transliterations of their names! I never read the manga or watched the anime subbed so it's hard for me to use those names, and I'm sorry if you hate it. :( I just have a story to share so hopefully you can get past it 3

Summary: After the Ceremonial Battle that allowed the Pharaoh's spirit to enter the afterlife, Yugi thought he had said goodbye to his friend for good. But something strange is happening to famous duelists everywhere, and Yugi is reunited with his old friend; but things have gone horribly wrong.

Timing: About 2 years after the Ceremonial Battle with Yami.

* * *

She was struggling not to breathe too loudly that she clamped her hands over her mouth. It was all she could do not to sob as she hid from the fluttering wings and sharp screeches of the Harpies that searched for her among the rocks. She heard the steady drips of water and the rumble of the waves outside of her little cave but nothing distracted her from the harsh beats of her frightened heart.

But she was Mai Valentine, damn it, so why the hell was she paralyzed with fear?

This sobering thought seemed to slow her racing heartbeat, and she was able to release her hands from her mouth and take a silent, deep breath. Her violet eyes flicked to the patch of sky she could see, and when no brightly colored wings were there, she relaxed more.

It was all so stupid, so unreal. It made absolutely no sense. One moment she was attending a convention for famous duelists and while taking a break from panels, she remembered falling asleep in the bath; a terrible habit she had, and of course extremely dangerous. But she never could resist the relaxation of a warm, comforting bath. The next moment she was standing next to a foggy patch of beach, among large gray rocks and mossy cliffs. She was wearing clothing, which was perhaps a distant thought, but one that confused her for a moment since she thought she was bathing. Was this a dream?

She smelled fish, and iron, and rust. Salty air stung her eyes as she blinked at the brightness of the fog. Mai had the strange thought to look to her hands since they felt wet and slightly sticky.

They were coated in drying but fresh blood.

Before she could fully express her shock, she heard wings flutter behind her. She spun around to see the bright green eyes of her favorite winged Duel Monster.

The Harpie Lady smiled with her teeth. She cocked her head to the side in question, but approached Mai cautiously as if afraid to scare the human off. When she neared Mai she cooed softly as a talon lightly brushed against Mai's cheek. Mai was stunned and confused but felt oddly comforted by the monster. "Is this a dream?" she asked, not really expecting a response. She suddenly felt two more presences behind her, and a small turn of her head saw that they were the Harpie Lady Sisters, with firery orange hair, and electric purple. The maroon Harpie drew up closer to Mai, nuzzling against her neck with affection. The blonde duelist felt the warmth from her monster and the light brush of feathers as the taloned hand of the Harpie wrapped around her in an embrace. She heard the light chuckling of the Harpies behind her, and in an instant felt cold, gripping fear.

The maroon Harpie dug her talons into Mai's back and bit down on Mai's shoulder.

Mai screamed in pain. She thrashed in the Harpie's grip but felt the monster clamp down even harder. Flashes of white blinded Mai's sight and she felt the pain was going to make her pass out. Without thinking, Mai punched the Harpie in the stomach and felt the fangs loosen on her shoulder. She then balled her right hand, grasped it with her left, and brought it down on the doubled-over Harpie's head. She knew the orange Harpie had started to move towards her so Mai threw an elbow into her neck. The purple Harpie was too fast, and dodged the kick aimed for her and tackled Mai to the ground.

The back of Mai's head made contact with the rocky ground, and she lost her breath as the Harpie slashed her talons across Mai's stomach in a frenzy. The blonde duelist felt the burning of her fresh wounds and ground her teeth at the pain. The purple Harpie was straddling her and screeching at her sisters. Mai's hand had managed to find a large rock and with all her remaining strength, heaved it into the Harpie's jaw with a sickening crack. The Harpie fell sideways and screamed in anguish.

Mai saw the orange one starting to get up, so she rolled over on her side, used one arm to hold her bleeding stomach and the other to push herself off the ground. It was only a manner of time before she would be attacked again, so she ran toward some caves she saw in the distance, whilst trying to weave in between the surf and rocks of the shore. A large wave came up and drenched her in salt-water, stinging her wounds.

But when she looked down, her wounds seem to dry with the water and evaporate off her skin.

Her blood-stained white shirt was still trashed, and her eyes fell to her hands again. The blood was dry. But she wasn't bleeding before now- or had she been? Flickers of another attack whispered in her mind, but she heard the screech of the Harpies behind her. She ran.

She made it to the caves and there tried to be as quiet as she could, hoping that the Harpies had lost her in the chase. Mai could not be sure that she was safe and had begun to feel that abject fear rise in her throat.

Mai Valentine woke in the lavish bath of her hotel suite and felt the water had turned lukewarm. She blinked for a moment and then rose out of the bath, feeling the water drip off her and musically drop into the water. She reached for the warmed white towels on the rack and wrapped it snugly against herself. Absentmindedly, Mai squeezed her shoulder as if working out a kink. She pulled her hand away and stared at it, flipping it so she could see the back. She shrugged and sighed.

Mai Valentine walked out of the bathroom and into her room, dressed, and walked down to the lobby, feeling only a touch of sleepiness.

* * *

Yugi bounded down the steps of the game shop, giving a smile and a rousing "See you later!" to his Grandfather as he sprinted out the door. He made an immediate left out of his house, much to the consternation of the handful of duelists that seemed to live outside the door. They were always there, thought Yugi, but they have to know I go to school! Still he smiled, and waved at them as they tried to follow him towards Domino High School.

They wanted to ask him questions, usually. "What card pairs well with this one?" "How did you defeat Pegasus?" "Can I see the God cards?" were among the favorites. Yugi always tried to be gracious and answer them, but even the smallest encouragement usually resulted in a near-riot of clamoring, aspiring duelists, trying to get near the King of Games himself. The celebrity status never went to his head, but his Grandfather couldn't help but monetize it, if just a little. His business managed to boom when he touted the game shop as to where "Yugi himself learned to love games!"

Usually Joey and/or Tristan managed to arrive and personally escort Yugi to school, scaring off any would-be pestering fans. They'd be joined by Tea on occasion, and Duke if he wasn't busy with his own shop. All of them managed to keep the fans and the challenges to duels away from Yugi so that he could concentrate on living his life.

But it was on the rare occasion that when Yugi walked to school alone that he realized his life was not the same. Of course, it had been inexorably changed by the tournaments, the duels, the shadow games, and the rest of Duel Monsters; but this was more than all of that. As he walked alone, he realized he was really, truly alone.

He sometimes wondered if Bakura missed the spirit of the Millenium Ring, even for a fleeting second. Yugi had wanted to talk to the white-haired boy, but shortly after KC tournament and life began to go back to normal, Bakura had transferred to a different school and moved away to another part of Japan. Yugi had tried to keep in contact, but it seemed Bakura did not want to be reminded of his time spent in Domino City. In all honesty, most of their group of friends could not be sure they even had a meaningful relationship with him, given that he always seemed to be possessed by the evil spirit even in the most innocent of times. Yugi's heart ached for him and the loneliness he must feel, perhaps paired with the guilt of missing his other self.

For Yugi though, he knew he felt lonely. Despite all of his friends he had made and lost through the years, he felt part of him had died with Atem. Even though the Pharaoh rightly deserved his rest in the afterlife, Yugi felt his absence like a raw wound, even after a few years. There had been other tournaments that he happily participated in, if only to feel closer to the spirit that had shared his mind for so long in the game that they both loved. But when there was no distractions, Yugi swung into a silent depression.

His friends did not know, or at least Yugi tried to make sure they did not know. He wondered if they could see through the thin veneer of his smiles and laughter; he sincerely hoped not. Yugi felt better that this quiet darkness he carried was his own, and not a burden to anyone else. They all had so many other things to be worried about, he hoped that they did not worry about him.

He felt his phone buzz with a text. It read, "Meeting on DA moved to up to 3PM use back entrance don't be late." Yugi could not help but sigh loudly as he entered his school's front gate. The text had to be from Kaiba who was graciously allowing him to be involved with the planning of some kind of Dueling Academy that Seto wanted to create. More than likely, Yugi was only meant to attend to put his name and approval on the plans; he didn't want anything in the form of feedback from Yugi. In fact, Yugi didn't even give Seto his new phone number, but Yugi didn't put any dubious or privacy-invading act past the young CEO. Seto had to know that Yugi's school let out at 3 PM, giving him absolutely no time to get to the Kaiba Corp tower. Actually, Seto probably didn't know or care.

Still, Yugi smiled and envisioned a Dueling Academy especially for young duelists who wanted to go pro! He couldn't help but smile as he thought that he and Kaiba were perhaps the first true pros of the game. Yugi could also imagine Seto seething at having to share that title with him.

Joey and Tristan greeted him in the hallway, interrupting his reverie. "Yug- tell me you did the homework for English..."

Yugi blinked. "Well, yeah, it took me a while-"

"We're saved!" Tristan patted a smiling Joey on the back, almost _too_ hard. Joey smiled a toothy grin.

"Attaboy Yugi! I knew we could count on you!"

Yugi's eye twitched. "You want to copy my homework? Guys, seriously, it took me all night! And I have to get ready for the Duel Monsters convention this weekend!"

Tristan closed his eyes and nodded gravely. "And you have sacrificed so much for your friends! A truer saint of friendship their never was!"

"Agreed!" Joey came over and put his arm around the smaller duelist. "Yugi, you are such a good influence on all of us lowly miscreants that we do not deserve your pity!"

"I didn't even know you knew what the word miscreant meant, Wheeler," said Duke as he walked past them into the classroom.

"Shaddup, Duke, and mind your own homeworky business," Joey spat while still holding Yugi with his arm. Yugi felt a little choked as Joey leaned into the classroom to continue to yell at Duke.

"Oh you mean that homework assignment for English that was extended? Don't bother Yugi, you have time to do it later." Duke replied as he got his things out of his bag.

"Whoa, what extension? Tristan, did you hear that?"

"Sweet! Yugi thanks for being a pal and all, but we'll just check you later, 'k man?"

Joey patted Yugi on the back and smoothed down his uniform. "See you in class later?" He winked and ran down the hall to try and beat the bell.

Yugi held up a finger trying to stop his friends, but just shrugged as they ran off. "That was almost diabolical, Duke," he laughed.

"Well, they should know better, right? They'll get what is coming to them." Duke smiled and leaned back in his chair, his green eyes dancing. He watched Yugi as the small duelist sat down and started to unpack his things for class. "You shouldn't let them mooch off you like that; they'll take you for granted."

Yugi smiled sheepishly. "You're probably right. But it doesn't bother me because I know they'll be there when I need them. Besides, it's just homework, not really big stuff."

"Mm. I hope so." Duke laced his fingers behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of the classroom as more students filled in the room with greetings. He couldn't help but hear Yugi's loud yawn. "Dueling in your sleep again, Kingy?" He chuckled.

Yugi laughed. "I feel like sometimes I don't sleep at all. I never remember my dreams though. I think I'm just worried about final exams or something."

"Nah, you've got nothing to worry about. Even if you completely fail everything, you're still the King of Games, right?"

Yugi scoffed. "Yeah thanks, Duke."

Duke sat up and turned towards him. "No, I'm serious! Think about it- you've got it made. You're going to go on to some kind of game designing firm, or become a world class pro Dueler. I should think after saving the world a few times, exams are kind of chump change."

Yugi couldn't help but shake his head. "But I think it's because they are such small things that I want to do them well," Yugi replied. "If my life is going to be so normal, I want to try my best at everything; not give up because of my past successes."

Duke considered that for a moment. "Wow, yeah that makes sense. I bet I sound like all those people that don't even know you- I should've known better that you would take the high road like that." Duke smiled apologetically.

Yugi shook his head. "No it's alright. Besides, I'm not _that_ good of a person."

Duke looked skeptical but turned his attention to the front of the class as the teacher began class. Yugi yawned again silently as he started to take notes.

* * *

Yugi crouched behind the dusty wall in the shrouded darkness. He was listening intently for footfalls, but when he didn't hear any, he scrambled out and rushed to the other end of the room to hide behind another wall where he had a better vantage of the labyrinth. The worn hieroglyphics on the walls were familiar to him, but still unintelligible in meaning. He froze when he heard someone yell and sounds of a struggle. Trying to hold he breath, he creeped closer to the sounds.

Two people were fighting; but when his eyes adjusted he realized it was just one person hitting the other. He realized they were both wearing the Domino High School uniforms, and a little dumbstruck and confused, Yugi walked closer without trying to conceal himself.

"I HATE YOU!"

The voice made Yugi freeze. Color drained from his face as he felt the hair on his neck stand up and his mouth fell open in shock.

It was his own voice.

It was like the light in the room began to slowly turned on as the yellow Egyptian bricks grew brighter, and the blue uniforms of the boys came into focus. The boy who was currently beating up the other was himself, and the other was-

Yami.

Yami attempted to grab Yugi's hands to stop him, and his face was twisted in pain. The corner of his mouth was bleeding as Yugi threw a well-aimed punch to his stomach. Yami doubled over and fell to his knees. His hands braced on the ground and he looked up to this other Yugi with pleading in his eyes. Yugi kicked him up under the jaw, throwing the spirit backward against the hard stone.

Yugi saw that this was too much- his twin, his _doppelganger _was ruthlessly beating his best friend and confidant, and someone he had not seen for two years. He went to help his friend and just as he reached the pair, he was stopped. An invisible force field of some kind, almost like glass, kept him from reaching Yami and the other Yugi. He pounded on the invisible wall, shouting for it to stop. But the pair acted as if Yugi was not there.

Yami groaned on the ground and turned on his side to try and get up. "Yugi, you don't have to-"

"Shut UP!" the other Yugi cried, grabbing Yami's hair at the root and yanking his head roughly down so that the spirit's face hit the ground. "You are the _worst_ thing to ever happen to me, Pharaoh, and everyone thinks I am not a duelist in my own right without _you_!" he spat, kicking the spirit's torso as punctuation. "You used me, you used my friends, and you nearly killed us all for _your_ needs!"

Yami coughed. "I didn't want to put you in danger-" he rolled out of the way of a another kick from the smaller boy and caught his foot. "Yugi, please, listen to me. You know I never meant to hurt you!" Yugi scoffed and roughly pulled his foot away. Yami let him go and held his hands up as he backed away. He backed up against the wall and slid down the wall to sit on the ground.

"I deserve all of this, and more," he said sadly. "Everything you said is true, Yugi, and I am so sorry. If there was something I could do to end your involvement, I would..." His lavender eyes were sincere and full of hurt. He wiped away the blood from his mouth, and was slightly surprised by the angry red color on his sleeve.

The other Yugi's face softened slightly. "Really?"

Yami nodded. "Yugi, I... I had no idea you felt this way, all this time. I have shared a mind with you for so long... I thought... I was foolish to not see these feelings before now."

The other Yugi walked slowly over to the spirit and knelt beside him. "I hid them pretty well," he smiled gently.

Yami smiled, relieved. "How can I ever ask for your forgiveness for everything I've done? I would do anything," he said.

Yugi smiled. It seemed things were forgiven. He leaned in and hugged him. "I'm happy to hear you say that." Yami sighed contentedly and hugged his friend back.

Yugi then plunged a dagger into Yami's stomach.

"You said _anything_, Yami," Yugi said darkly.

The Yugi behind the wall screamed in terror and started to try to break through the wall by pounding his fists in hysterics.

Yami gasped in pain and fell against the other Yugi, who shrugged him off as he stood up. Yami had tears spring to his eyes and he grasped the dagger in him and pulled it out. He cried out in pain as blood soaked his clothes and he saw the face of his friend. It wasn't smiling, but just dark and spiteful. His eyes dulled as his breathing became ragged and then stopped.

Yugi awoke with a start just as the teacher called on him to answer a question. Yugi blinked and laughed, embarrassed. "Can you please repeat the question?"

"Surely you can afford us a _few minutes_ of your time, Mr. Moto, even if you are a champion duelist," the teacher said, annoyed.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me..."

"Mr. Devlin, kindly help your classmate out."

"I think the answer is 20, sir."

"Very good. Mr. Moto, kindly pay attention next time, alright? Let us continue," the teacher said turning back toward the board.

Duke leaned towards Yugi, "Hey, you okay?" he whispered.

Yugi nodded with a hand over half his face. "Yeah, I'm not sure what happened." He pulled his hand away from his face as he felt wetness. Had he been crying?

"I didn't even see you fall asleep, otherwise I would have warned you."

"Thanks Duke, you're a great friend."

"I'd do anything, Yugi," he said smiling.

Yugi couldn't help but feel struck by his words. But the feeling passed and he tried to listen to the rest of the lecture.

* * *

Please review! Give me the strength to go on! ;) 3 Next chapter will be up soonish.


	2. Seto Hates Popcorn

"You're late."

Yugi sighed. "I got here as fast as I could, Kaiba. I'm still in High School."

"Does it look like I care? I specifically told you not to be late, but I guess it doesn't matter to the King of Games."

"It's great to see you again too, Kaiba." Yugi took off his backpack and placed it on the ground next to a chair. There were quite a few faces at the table that Yugi did not recognize, but a few that he did, including that of Maximilian Pegasus.

This was a surprising development for Yugi; that Kaiba would allow him anywhere near his company, and that he was seated here civilly. For his own part, Pegasus smiled and waved jovially at Yugi. Yugi couldn't help but smile back.

"As I was saying: Much of the specifics are set up. The reason why you are here is to help invest in the idea of the Pro League, which will be of course owned by KaibaCorp. The Duel Academy, or DA until we release it to the public, will have several branches that will serve the world and help establish the League's legitimacy."

"And what kind of dueling classes do you intend to offer, hmm?" Pegasus asked, smiling.

"The curriculum will range from strategy to general knowledge of type weaknesses to actual battle structure. It also depends on the instructors we choose to hire. I have also designed a ranking system among the students to promote competition."

"Will the academy be run by KaibaCorp?" said someone at the end of the table.

Kaiba smiled, "It will of course be owned by KaibaCorp since I will be fronting most of the money. I certainly won't be teaching upstart duelists how to play."

"And will it only teach dueling?"

"Other things, such as mathematics, history, even alchemy are being seriously considered as subjects at the school, but again, the interviews with potential staff is still an ongoing process."

There were some low mutterings in from among the people in the room. Yugi could tell that not everyone was convinced of Kaiba's plan, and they resented not having any part in it. It seemed they looked to Pegasus as the leader of their mini-opposition.

"You seem to have this all figured out then, Kaiba. If you invited us here to congratulate you on your brilliant idea, then I must say bravo-" Pegasus drawled, clapping his hands together mockingly.

Kaiba scowled as the guests at the table chuckled a little. "I think what Kaiba is trying to say," Yugi chimed in, despite a glare from Kaiba, "is that he can create this Duel Academy, but without our support it won't have much of an effect in the greater world. At least not to the extent that Duel Monsters has affected our lives." His voice was not as strong as he had intended, but it did seem to quiet the dissension. Some even nodded approvingly, so he continued. "I think that we should support this project, if anything to help Duel Monsters affect a wider audience and make people more excited about the game."

"Hmm, well-said Yugi-boy. I suppose a Duel Academy can only help Duel Monster sales, wouldn't you agree?" Pegasus laughed lightly and had much of the table laughing with him. "But in all seriousness, Kaiba, anything you need I'm sure I can scrounge up for you."

"Would you hire graduates at your company?" asked a man next to him.

"If they meet Kaiba's presumably rigorous graduation requirements, then I'm sure they couldn't be all that bad," he said.

That resulted in a chorus of agreement from the table and the meeting was adjourned. Kaiba poured himself a drink as the guests from the meeting milled about the room talking to one another about the possibilities of the academy, despite knowing they could not have much of a hand in it given Kaiba's absolute control of the project.

He took a sip and nearly spit it out as Pegasus slapped him on the shoulder. "What a successful meeting, eh? Couldn't have planned it better myself. It almost got away from you though, Kaiba-boy... You might owe Yugi a little nod or even a stern stare of thanks. Whichever you can muster."

"I don't owe him anything," Kaiba said stoically.

Pegasus looked dubious. "Forgive me Kaiba, but you say such utter nonsense when it comes to that boy, and I wonder if you actually believe it?" He shook his head in mock sadness. "I mean trouncing you all those times in dueling- but also saving your poor excuse of a soul- it really gets to you-"

"How does that make me owe him anything? You're still insane, Pegasus."

Pegasus backed off, smiling. "Still hot under that ridiculous collar of yours. It's a good think Yugi likes you, despite your failings. He stood up for you knowing that you would never thank him for it. _That's_ why he's the king of games, not _you_."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "That makes no sense. And I wonder if he really _is _the king of games as everyone says, despite him lacking the killer instinct he used to have." Kaiba glared menacingly but just took another sip of his drink while looking at Yugi as he talked among some other duelists from the meeting.

Pegasus sighed. "Since I'm the one who crowned him, I would have to say yes, it was he _and _the spirit that won against me. But Yugi deserves the title, even separated from the Millenium Puzzle's spirit." Pegasus poured himself a drink and took a sip. "And whatever you may think of me, Kaiba-boy, you can't possibly say that Yugi is not a fine duelist. You'd have to beat him much more than once to say otherwise." Pegasus walked away toward the small group near Yugi, smiling and humming as he went.

Kaiba fumed silently and excused himself to his other duties, telling the guests that they could see themselves out.

* * *

Kaiba walked out of the elevator to his suite in the KaibaCorp tower and turned on the lights in the kitchen. "Mokuba, are you in there?" he called, since he heard the television on. He had decided that the meeting was a success, even though it did not go as he envisioned it. Damn Pegasus always messing with his head: he had begun to think it _was_ because of Yugi that it had gone so well.

"Did you eat yet?" Seto said, walking into the living room. He stopped at the door.

Mokuba was lying face-down in a pool of blackish-red blood. Cartoons played loudly on the television and popcorn littered the ground next to an empty bowl. Seto felt himself want to retch, but instead he ran to Mokuba and fell to his knees in the pool of his little brother's blood. He picked him up and cradled his head in his lap, starting to keen in shock. His neck had been slashed.

The elevator dinged and Seto found himself on the floor of the elevator as he arrived to his suite in the KaibaCorp tower. Mokuba was cheerily eating popcorn on the sofa and waved at his brother as he got up from the floor and walked in.

"Did you drink too much? It's only 5 PM, Seto," Mokuba laughed, confused by his brother's antics.

Seto got up and smoothed down his jacket, looking slightly confused. "I guess I just dropped something," he said trying to play it off.

Mokuba laughed and watched his brother as he came in. Seto didn't even crack a smile. He often wished that Seto could laugh, and not in that creepy, scary way either that he sometimes did. Sometimes he wondered who was really taking care of whom.

He crunched on some popcorn and grabbed a handful, offering it to Seto. Surprisingly, Seto took the offering without thinking about it and walked over to the window. "I didn't think you even liked popcorn..."

"Yeah? Then why did you offer it?"

"Uhm I dunno, I guess I didn't want to be rude?"

"Well that's totally you, 'ruuuddddee Mokuba,'" Seto said while he jammed the popcorn in his mouth.

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "How'd the meeting go?"

Seto shrugged as he turned around and sat down next to his brother on the sofa. "I guess it went pretty well. They seem on board."

"Yeah? That's good. I wish I had been there... but you know... Pegasus..." Mokuba paused as he stood up to turn off the TV. "I mean I guess he's not a bad guy now, but still... I just don't really want to see him."

"I don't think that's _ever_ going to be a problem," Seto said.

Mokuba wrung his hands together and decided to change the subject. "Was Yugi there?"

"Yes? But he arrived late," Seto spat as he pulled out his phone to check his email.

His brother sighed. "You are always way too harsh on him." Seto said nothing as he scrolled though stock updates. Mokuba started to put his jacket on. "How did he seem?"

"What do you mean?" Seto asked without looking up.

"I _mean_, how did he _seem_? Quiet? Normal?"

"I don't-" Seto began but Mokuba had snatched the phone out of his hand. That usually meant "pay attention to me dammit." Mokuba dangled the phone menacingly over the concrete floor. Many a phone had met its demise this way.

Seto sighed with exasperation and crossed his arms across his chest. "He seemed fine. Why would I be paying attention to how he feels?"

"_Seto_," Mokuba chided with his hands on his hips. "I'm just asking a question. I'm not trying to make you _care_ about him, I'm just genuinely curious since I wasn't there."

"Well I still don't understand why you are even asking! What does it matter?"

Mokuba sighed. "You know, you remember that weird ceremonial battle just like I do. Ever since then Yugi has been a little different. He's just been... quieter? I don't know. I mean, has his dueling changed?"

"It's certainly not as cut-throat," Seto said. Mokuba waved his hand trying to encourage him to say more. Seto shrugged, annoyed. "Duelists express themselves differently from... everyone else. His dueling is fine. He's still _winning_."

Mokuba just stared at his brother and then shook his head. "You don't get it," he said laughing a little.

"No, I guess _not_," Seto said defensively.

Mokuba rocked back on his heels. Despite knowing Seto's mood, he couldn't help but think aloud. "I really wish..." he sighed, "...sometimes that we could have gotten to know them better."

"We know them just fine."

"No, Seto, I mean..." Mokuba struggled to find the right words. He put his hand to his brow trying to think. He had to watch it because he was getting frustrated. "We just shared a lot of experiences with them- Yugi, the spirit, Wheeler- and we just don't talk to them anymore. I mean they saved our _lives_-"

"And we saved theirs-"

Mokuba had to give up. This was going no where and his brother was just impossible to argue with- which of course made him an excellent businessman but hard to be related to."You're right." He smiled and bumped his shoulder against his brother's, playfully. "Do you think I could go to Duelist Academy?"

Seto cocked his head, surprised.

"I don't see why not. You'll still have to apply like everyone else."

Mokuba groaned, but smiled and he jumped up and got ready to leave. "I'll be back around 10 or so; I'm going to the arcade with some friends."

Seto looked disappointed. "Do you have to go? I was thinking we could do something... together?"

Mokuba looked guilty. "Seto I made these plans last week. Besides you told me you have tons of work to do..." Mokuba felt pretty awful at this moment. Seto hardly ever sought him out to hang out. "Let's do something tomorrow, okay?"

Seto nodded as if he was unaffected and walked into his study. Mokuba got into the elevator and left.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review! :) A loving shout-out to Keltish for being my first review 3 :D


	3. Turquoise Morning

There was a golden, glittery haze that rose from the pale sand. Turquoise water, the color of morning sky, flowed slowly down a river. Jasmine and sandalwood scents mixed with smoke filled the city, and brightly colored tapestries that never seemed to fade decorated the ancient stone walls.

"Egypt has never been so prosperous," Mahad said, looking out over the shimmering desert oasis from the stone dais that had a linen canopy above. The sun was high above, and even though it was hot, a comforting breeze ran through the air and rustled the date palms above.

"Yes," said Atem, smiling as he looked over the view his friend saw. "But this is not exactly Egypt." Despite his words, he was smiling and leaned against the half wall. He closed his eyes as the breeze caressed his cheek.

Mahad looked to his pharaoh, his king, and his friend. "True. But it is the Egypt we deserve and fought for." Mahad noticed Atem's face change. "Do you have regrets, then?" Mahad asked, his voice touched by concern.

Atem looked embarrassed and threw his hands up. "Doesn't everyone?" he said, trying to play it off. Mahad smiled softly as perhaps an invitation to continue. "I mean... I don't really know.

"It's everything I ever hoped for: I have my kingdom, my friends, my memories- my complete _faculties_ are back. I remember my mother. I remember you and Mana as we tried to learn our first spells together. Also, when Seto and I first fought and became rivals despite our fathers... and his desire to become pharaoh instead of me. I remember my mother's death... and then the abject shame I felt when I discovered what lengths my father had gone to with the Millennium Items. My father... and the atrocious things he did." Atem closed his eyes and balled his fists.

"And now I realize the sacrifice he had made for me back then- I still feel that sacrifice because he is not here. He is not here to enjoy paradise with me though I see him in every brick, every grain of sand, every star in the sky. I am only here because of _him,_" Atem said, his voice growing dark but he opened his fierce violet eyes. "I had hoped the Gods would still show him mercy and favor, but that was not the case. He was there to greet me into this afterlife, but... was found wanting. And so I regret that I cannot fully enjoy paradise, because I am only enjoying it at his suffering."

Mahad knew this last statement was not completely true, and he knew that his Pharaoh knew this as well. Atem was selling his part short in this account; he had made it to the afterlife in part because of his deeds in life and those acts his spirit performed. But Mahad knew Atem well, and bringing up this fact would not help get to the bottom of what was truly bothering his king and friend.

"But you regret other things," the young priest said going to sit on lounge draped in thin linen. He poured wine for his Pharaoh and then some for himself. Atem obliged and sat opposite his friend and took the wine made from mulled spices and pomegranates.

"Well..." he said thoughtfully. His mood changed and he flashed Mahad a small smile. "I often wonder if Yugi will be here someday."

Mahad smiled back. "The other boy; the other soul whose body you shared on your adventures away from us." Atem's face lit up as he smiled and nodded.

Mahad continued, "I always love hearing you talk of him; of the adventures you had. You seem as happy as the first day one of your spells didn't backfire..." he teased. "But happier."

Atem smirked, ignoring the jab. "We did have some challenging, but good adventures."

"I am jealous I was not there."

"Well... you were there in spirit," Atem laughed ruefully.

Mahad laughed too. "It is so good to see you brighten, my king. You suffered so in life."

Mahad wished immediately that he could swallow his words, for Atem's smile faded. Atem cast down his head as he said, "We all did, Mahad. We all suffered in the lives we had; but our reward is this wonderful paradise." Atems arms spread wide open. "We are without suffering, without death, even without _flies_," he said laughing and leaning back in his lounge. "I feel like I'm finally _home._"

Mahad was glad to know that he did not spoil his friend's mirth. He knew that much had happened while the pharaoh slept, and much had occurred when he woke up; perhaps even a lifetime of challenge, strife, and trauma, all fit into what was only a few years by his estimation. Mahad had only lived for twenty or so years; the rest he had been asleep, waiting for his pharaoh to join them in the afterlife. Atem had lived for thousands of years, and perhaps remembered all of it, if not most.

To hopefully see his king smile, he said, "Tell me a story, great king, of this Yugi Moto."

And there it was; a brilliant and joyful smile. Atem said, "I remember when Yugi first learned that I was not just an extension of himself; that when he let me control his actions, that I might do things he did not want. I learned a lot from Yugi when I first woke up from my imprisonment since I was so bitter and angry. He helped temper those feelings. But there were still lessons I had to learn. I had a righteous fury- a _self_-righteous fury and I was not always correct. I was just a soul trapped in a _cage_ for thousands of years. I knew nothing of my past, or my friends. I'm not sure I knew of the concept of friends."

Mahad was observing Atem as he spoke. Tan, lithe skin met white linen that made up the pharaoh's tunic. His shendyt, or the bottom piece of clothing around his legs, was exactly right to the fashion of being slightly longer. His belt and breast piece, or gorgerine, were hammered gold, given a lustrous shine daily in life by slaves that were happy to serve the pharaoh in this way. In death, the gold never needed to be shined, and their clothes never needed to be cleaned. They never noticed the lack of slaves in the afterlife, as they were never left without.

"When I was released it was as if I was reborn and I had to learn things all over again. The Seto of this future time, Seto _Kaiba_, was dueling in a grand tournament against the creator of Duel Monsters, or that time's version of monster summoning with ka. Pegasus wore the Millennium Eye and it had influenced him to steal the souls of both Mokuba, Kaiba's brother, and Solomon, Yugi's grandfather, therefore bringing us both into the fight. Right before final entry, Kaiba and Yugi had to duel.

"Just like the Seto we know, Kaiba would do _anything_ to get his brother back. If he did not defeat me, he could not defeat Pegasus. Towards the end, the battle seemed obvious that it would end in my favor. I was about to destroy his monster. Kaiba decided to prey on my mercy."

Atem shifted a little in the lounge as he took a sip of the heady wine. It was slightly chilled, even though there was no way it could still be refreshing after being out with them this long in the heat. It was little things like this that made him marvel at the wonder of paradise.

"He walked to the edge of the tower we were battling on and taunted me to destroy his monster. If I destroyed it, he would doubtless fall off onto the cliffs from the shock wave. I wonder now if he was surprised that I sent my monster to attack him anyway."

Mahad could not help but crease his brow. "You would have killed him?" he asked, slightly surprised.

Atem had a stern look on his face. "...To this day, I am not completely sure. Maybe Kaiba had another trap, or perhaps I would have stopped the attack. But I had rationalized him away as an obstacle to winning. There could be no stumbling blocks to my goal."

Mahad shook his head. "I don't understand how this is a good memory."

The corner of Atem's mouth curved slightly at his friend's comment. "It is; at least to me. The good part is that Yugi wrested control back and stopped me. He could not destroy Kaiba, so he forfeited the duel. He was so afraid of me that he banished me to the recesses of the Millennium Puzzle. And even though this was all unpleasant, it was almost a relief. Yugi could not longer pretend that I was under his control; I was someone to be dealt with. I was separate."

Atem smiled fondly. "I suppose up until that moment, he thought I was an oddity. Perhaps a helpful demon spirit who could be swayed to his will. I had no memories of my own, and so I did not argue with his idle thoughts of me. He knew I was powerful, but he also knew we wanted the same things. But how we got there was an entirely different matter.

"Shortly after that, he tried to contain me, but relented once he realized he could trust me. We worked together as a team, fought brilliantly, and got his grandfather's soul back. But he treated me quite differently going forward. Perhaps... more deferentially."

Mahad smiled. "I remember crossing the same line myself, Atem. Do you remember the day of Seto's ascension to head priest?"

Atem couldn't stop his laugh from bubbling off his lips. "By the gods, I cannot believe I had almost forgotten!"

"How was I to know that the sacrifice was supposed to be saved for the ceremony? I figured someone had just sacrificed a cow and forgotten to clean up the carcass."

"And Seto's face when he was reciting the prayer to Osiris and then realized..."

"... they realized there was no sacrifice ready to be burned to the gods. I swear, Mana believed that Seto had raised the cow from the dead."

Atem held his sides and he laughed. "I remember it so well! We were so young-"

"But not very deferential." Mahad turned serious. "Had I paid attention during our studies the days leading up the ceremony, I would have known not to clean up the sacrifice like is usually my duty. I know it's not true, but sometimes I blame myself for all the calamity that befell Egypt in our day because I angered the gods that day."

"Mahad..." Atem said, shaking his head. "Siamon procured another cow for the sacrifice, and the ritual was saved. There was no divine retribution for the acts of a young, and overly eager boy." He reached over and squeezed his friend's shoulder. "You worry too much."

Mahad nodded. "That is absolutely true." He stood and took off his robe, standing there only in his shendyt under his clothes. Atem looked startled as his friend disrobed.

Mahad chuckled. "Every time I have these thoughts, I decide to go swim in the Nile. It's a great way to absolve the bad memories and remind me why we are here."

Atem flashed a grin. "I think I might join you then once I'm done with my wine."

"Excellent," Mahad said as he took of his headdress and gold adornment. "You should be warned, my king, that you will not be spared splashing just because you are relatively new to the afterlife, or you are a pharaoh." He laughed as he ran off down to the inviting Nile.

Atem laughed again as his friend left. He felt comforted and happy from his friend, and was glad that he could do the same for him. He sometimes felt they were all children again, free from responsibility.

He set his wine down, and felt an odd sensation in his chest. It _hurt_ and he felt dizzy. He grasped his chest and closed his eyes, crumpling in the lounge against the horrible pain.

But as quickly as it had come, it disappeared. He felt that he must have imagined it and rose to join his friend in the Nile.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again to Keltish and D17-pharaohfox! I'm glad I snagged two of you on this crazy journey we're about to go on. I really appreciate the reviews. Mark you calenders! Next update will be tomorrow night; I'm just sprucing it up a little. :3


	4. False Pretenses

Yugi tripped as he walked out of the KaibaCorp building. He was always slightly clumsy because the world seemed built for larger people than himself. He had grown a few inches in the past few years and people didn't mistake him for a 12 year old anymore. Still, he knew he would never be as tall as his friends, but he was always alright with it.

"Yugi, do you want to duel?"

The question startled him because he thought he was alone, and it was fairly late at night. Yugi turned to see a boy slightly younger than himself with brown hair and a ball cap that barely hid his hazel eyes. He looked innocent enough, and Yugi smiled.

"So you recognized me, huh?" he said smiling, while a hand went in back of his head with slight embarrassment.

The boy nodded emphatically. "I want to be a master duelist like you some day! I'd love to get some tips."

Yugi struggled with saying no, which is what he wanted to say. He was tired, he had plenty of other work to do, but instead, he replied, "Well, let's go find a playing field."

The boy was ecstatic. His hazel eyes went wide and he looked like he was going to jump out of his skin. Yugi could only smile warmly, thinking dimly that had their roles been reversed, he might be doing the same thing.

They walked to a clean alleyway that would be hidden from sight. Yugi expressed this was a great idea since he didn't really feel like playing in front of a crowd. The boy inclined his head saying he didn't care either way.

"The name is Bodin," his dueling partner stated. "And when I woke up this morning, I had no idea this was even a possibility! Thanks for taking my challenge!"

Yugi pulled out his deck and dueling disk and saw the boy do the same. "I'm always happy to play a good duel," he said. As he fed his deck into his the dueling disk, he felt a weird pang in his head, like a headache coming on.

"You okay?" the boy called from the other side of the alley.

Yugi bit back a grimace and nodded. "Sure, it's just been a long day." He pulled himself up and looked at his opponent. He tried to study him a little to hopefully understand what he was getting into.

Yugi realized, with a small sinking feeling, that the boy might not be as young as he had thought. He acted and sounded around 14, but now that the champion duelist was actually paying close attention, some things didn't quite add up. His brown hair was short and angled; more similar to Tristan's than Kaiba's, but with many spikes. He was very thin and lithe, but his small stature made him seem more approachable. His hazel eyes were much more aware and observant than Yugi had originally thought.

Bodin wore black and red in a fashionable jacket and black pants. It was perhaps the red and white ball-cap that had influenced Yugi to think he was so young. Now Bodin removed it, and he looked older.

Maybe even older than Yugi. Bodin's eyes suddenly narrowed as his face turned serious.

"I certainly hope you are up for the challenge," he replied, in a deeper voice than before.

Yugi narrowed his own eyes and smirked. "Somehow I have the feeling this is not a typical duel," he said, trying to imitate the foreboding voice of the pharaoh.

Bodin smiled lazily. "I see you are seeing through the glamour. I hope you are not disappointed that I am not a small boy that you can take advantage of," he said pouting.

Yugi raised his chin in defiance. "There is no reason for age or smallness to influence someone's opinion of dueling skills. I am proof of that," he said, irritably. "I just don't appreciate being tricked into a duel under false pretenses." He touched his deck to pull his first five cards to start the game.

The man calling himself Bodin smiled with his teeth. "And yet you still want to continue."

Yugi undid the buttons on his school uniform revealing the black shirt underneath. "I admit, I'm curious, 'Bodin,'" he replied, his voice laced with doubt. "But I think I should let you know that I do not have the God cards in my deck, so they are not available should you win."

Bodin laughed hollowly. As they talked, it seemed as if the image of Bodin came into focus, and he looked more sinister as the time went on. Nothing perceptibly changed, just... the aura he was giving off. "I am not after the God cards." Bodin drew his own five cards. "By all means, Moto, please take the first turn."

Yugi scowled slightly, feeling a small hint of panic at his situation. He should have let someone know where he was after leaving KaibaCorp, or at least that he would be home soon. He wasn't sure if this Bodin was just a crazed fan... or something else. But he swallowed those thoughts and channeled everything he had learned from the Pharaoh, about courage and confidence.

He dueled now to make the Pharaoh proud.

He drew a card for his turn. "I play this monster face-down in defense mode and this card face-down," he said as he set the cards. "And I end my turn."

Bodin drew his card. "I play Gaia, the Fierce Knight in attack mode. Gaia, attack his face-down monster!"

Yugi revealed Big Shield Gardna as his face-down monster. "Your attack is _not_ effective, Bodin, and the difference between Gardna's defense and your monster's attack is deducted directly from your lifepoints." Bodin's lifepoints dropped to 1700, as the 300 point difference came off.

But then Yugi felt a stinging sensation in his mind, almost as if someone had pricked something sharp inside his skull. He couldn't hide the pain on his face, and he held a hand to his temple to try and ease it.

Bodin smirked. "It seems you're having trouble dueling, Yugi," he said with a taunt. "I place this card face-down and end my turn." Gaia returned to his side of the field and the horse pawed the ground and snorted.

Yugi ground his teeth as the pain increased. He glared angrily at Bodin, and reached for a card to draw. When he touched his deck, he felt a horrible shock rip through his body. Violent images swam through his brain, and one in particular made him cry out.

Yami, lying dead as Yugi stood over him with a bloodied dagger in his hand.

Yugi fell to his knees and grabbed his head with both hands. His head felt like it was splitting apart, or that the pressure was going to crush his skull. Tears sprang to his eyes as he shook his head wildly.

"I don't- what is this..." he whispered pathetically. His eyes were clamped shut and his breathing was ragged in sobs. Other images of Duel Monsters attacking him including the Dark Magician, Joey trying to kill him, and Atem falling to his death off of a cliff flashed in front of his eyes, and the young duelist gasped at the strain and horror in the pictures he saw; pictures that were of memories that never happened.

Distantly he heard his duel disk power down, and footsteps approached him.

Bodin grabbed Yugi's hair and pulled up on his head to face him. Yugi hissed at the rough pull and opened his eyes to Bodin's harsh hazel ones.

"This is what is going to happen every time you try to duel, _King_," the man ground out. "My master wanted to deliver a message, and I'm glad to see it was received so _clearly_," he spat, throwing Yugi's head down. Yugi cried out and went back to cradling his head in agony.

"Who- who are you?" Yugi said.

Bodin laughed as he walked away and called over his shoulder. "We are your _worst_ nightmares."

* * *

Kaiba checked his watch and it was almost ten at night; around which Mokuba said he would be home. He clicked off his computer and checked his phone. No emergency phone calls, no frantic texts, no mysterious alarms had been set off.

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose. Lord forbid he _ever_ have children of his own someday. Worrying over his brother sometimes felt like he had _lifetimes_ of parent angst.

But then his phone buzzed with a call from Yugi.

"What do you-" Kaiba had answered, incensed. How _dare_ Yugi call him this late at night? It didn't matter if he would be up for hours anyway, it was disrespectful and insulting. But he couldn't even answer the question before the other voice on the line cut him off.

"Joey, please help me, I'm at Block 39 near building 10*- and I-I can't seem to m-move..." Yugi said, his voice pained on the other side of the line. He then gasped and the line went dead.

Kaiba pulled the phone from his ear and regarded it with confusion. Was this a prank call? Yugi, despite all of his delusions never seemed the trickster type. He quickly went to his contacts and scrolled through, looking for Wheeler's number. But then he remembered- he had specifically _not _added his number to his phone. He growled. Yugi was going to owe him.

He called his driver to pull the car up.

* * *

Yugi was struggling to get out of the alley so that someone might see him, but he was not in a busy part of the city and he didn't have much hope of being obvious if Joey arrived and he had passed out. There were no street lamps nearby and the darkness was oppressively enveloping his vision.

_What did I get myself into_, he thought. The pain had not lessened, and he felt himself teetering on the edge of consciousness. Black spots already clouded his vision and made it harder to concentrate on moving.

He was on the ground with his duel disk still on his wrist. He was practically crawling, extremely slowly, all while his head reverberated with horrible memories of things that had not happened. An inch closer, and he felt his hand get cut by some broken glass on the ground. He felt the sting, but barely had the energy to react, so he kept crawling towards the open alleyway.

He saw headlights, but they passed by him and he could not rouse enough of a voice to call out. His head fell as he continued to try and move. He felt so weak that he had to stop for fear of passing out.

He did not hear the footsteps as they ran into the alley and stopped short in front of him. "Did you get mugged or something?" Kaiba said, looking slightly disgusted at the disheveled duelist.

Yugi looked up in confusion. "Wha- Kaiba? I didn't call you-"

"Yes you did, though you thought I was the mutt," Kaiba said, some of his usual venom leeched out of his voice. He got down on a knee and examined Yugi quietly.

Yugi gasped again as he felt the flowery burst of pain behind his eyes again. "But- then you came anyway?" he said even as his eyes were shut.

"Well, don't expect me to make a habit of it." He stood and looked to his car about twenty feet away. "Can you walk?" he said as gently as he could.

Yugi shook his head quietly as he started to shake a little. He hated looking so weak in front of Kaiba, and what was worse, involuntary tears sprang to the corners of his eyes. Kaiba sighed, and wordlessly bent down to pick up the smaller duelist.

Kaiba was amazed at how light Yugi was as he carried him in both arms. He felt probably the same weight, if not lighter than his brother, who was quite a few years younger than Yugi. The younger duelist's head lolled back as he slipped unconscious for a second and then came back. His violet eyes were still pained as he looked to Kaiba.

Kaiba said nothing as his chauffeur opened the door to the limo. Seto gingerly climbed in and laid yugi down across the back seat as he took one of the seats on the side. He started rummaging under the seat for a first-aide kit.

"I'm okay, Kaiba, I just have a headache-" Yugi said. He winced as he finished the sentence.

"Bullshit, you are bleeding all over my imported Italian leather seat," Kaiba said, perhaps a touch more harsh than he intended. Yugi looked confused and then felt the slickness of his hand that was covered in blood. He regarded it and then placed it on his stomach so that the blood flowed onto his own clothes rather than the oh-so-important leather seats. His other hand was weighed down by the duel disk and it was starting to pull his arm at an uncomfortable angle. Kaiba, again, without a word, began to help him before Yugi could ask for it and removed the duel disk from his arm.

He noticed that there were two cards in play and that Yugi's deck was in the disk. "You were dueling someone?" he inquired as he moved the disk to the other side of the seat.

Yugi's arm hung limp where Kaiba left it. "Yes," he said weakly, closing his eyes.

"Did you win?" Kaiba said absently as he pull out antiseptic to start cleaning up Yugi's hand. Yugi was too exhausted to protest to the sting of the alcohol.

"I... couldn't finish the duel. I think it was a draw," he said quietly. Kaiba said nothing as he pulled out gauze to wrap up his hand. "Why are you helping me?" he asked, his eyes opening and looking at Kaiba.

Kaiba flicked his eyes to meet Yugi's then went back to working on his hand. His face was blank as he pressed the cotton bandage into Yugi's palm and he wrapped the gauze around the small duelist's hand. "I suppose we'll consider this a favor to Mokuba, who has a strange concern about your welfare," he replied nonchalantly. He bit a piece of surgical tape off of a roll and used it to secure the bandage in place.

"You should change that in a few days, I don't think you'll need stitches. I can't do much for your headache," he said. But even so, he pulled out a white cotton cloth from the kit and opened a water bottle to pour out water on it. He wrung it out on the floor of the limo and placed it on Yugi's forehead. Yugi looked immensely grateful and almost shocked at Kaiba's good will.

"But also," he said quietly, "...problems of yours usually end up being problems of mine. I want you to tell me everything."

* * *

*Interesting note: I learned that Japan does not have street names, they have block numbers. Addresses in Japan have the district number, the block number and then the building number which goes from oldest to youngest. Yugi is in a fairly new part of Domino City.

* * *

AN: Thanks to my reviewers! To the anon, Great: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the little bit of humor ;)

Anon Guest: I actually completely agree with you! It _is_ unbelieveable. But someone who was so selfless and kind... what would their worst nightmare be? What do they fear? :)

Keltish: Thank you for the kudos- they were yummy and delicious. I enjoyed them thoroughly! :P More vivid for the imagination!

Anon Ygo Fan Committee: YOU GOT IT! :3

Next chapter is in the process of being written, and it should be up by the end of the week. I can't promise anything right now. :) Please review! I love reviews.


	5. Confusion Meets Uncertainty

Joey was out walking in the general direction of Duke's game shop. He had a list of priorities today, and they were, in order:

Find Duke

Beat up Duke for lying to him about the English assignment

Find Yugi

Apologize for trying to copy his homework

Beat up Duke again

Find something to eat

He felt like it was a pretty good list for the day and he was pretty proud that he had it all planned out. He hadn't been sleeping well lately even though he had slept _in _almost every morning this week. It had also been weighing on his mind that he had tried to copy Yugi's homework; he felt like he had let his friend down. Yugi had looked slightly disappointed but would have given him the assignment. Joey had known this and felt like in his panic to still graduate on time he had forgotten how hard Yugi was working for himself and the duelist community. He really had to get this list done fast that way he could go take a long nap.

"Hey, Joey, wait up!"

He silently cursed and turned around. He then smiled and raised his hand to wave to Tea. "Hey Tea, what's up? I was just going to say hi to Du- I mean Yugi."

Tea smiled as she fixed her hair from running up to him. "That's why I was trying to find you. Solomon called me telling me that Yugi didn't come home last night, but that Yugi called this morning saying he was already at the Dueling Convention."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "He was out all night?" He couldn't help but whistle. "Our little Yugi is growing up so fast!" He flicked his thumb against his nose as he laughed.

Tea wasn't nearly as exuberant, in fact she was uncharacteristically silent. Yugi didn't seem like he was in trouble or anything according to Solomon, but she wasn't so sure. They had talked about walking to the convention center together to grab breakfast or something because they weren't going to see much of him for a while. His celebrity hadn't really allowed her much one on one time with him to figure out where exactly they stood.

Joey wrapped an arm around Tea. "Don't think I can't see you all worried about him," he said, conspiratorially.

She tensed and grabbed his hand, using it as leverage to flip him over her shoulder and flat on his back in front of her. He was splayed out on the ground with a surprised look on his face. "Just because I'm worried about him is not an invitation to get fresh with _me_," she said, flipping her hair and walking towards the game shop.

"W-who was getting fresh? Geez Tea, get a grip!" Joey said as he pushed himself up and started yelling at Tea, who argued back.

"Wow, I had no idea you two were an item," came a familiar voice behind them.

Tea turned around with an indignant look, but the look melted into a smile when she saw it was Mai Valentine. Mai gave Tea a little wink of hello and turned to Joey with a skeptical look. "You should definitely treat her better if you expect to impress other potential women," she drawled as if bored.

Joey blushed and then turned angry. "I am not- she is not- and why would I try to impress you?"

"Oh, there is no worry of that, Joey. I am so out of your league. I don't date guys with dirt on their jackets," she replied, linking arms with Tea as they walked away together laughing. Joey looked down at his jacket and sure enough, when Tea had flipped him onto the ground he had much of the ground still _on_ him. He angrily wiped it away and ran to catch up with the ladies who were talking about Yugi.

"All night, huh? That is kind of strange," Mai said, as Joey joined their conversation.

"And for him to not even call to tell me- us? It's not like him..."

Joey shook his head, his brown eyes distant. "You guys worry about him too much," he said. "Maybe he just wants space? Like maybe we've been smothering him lately... asking too much of him." The girls couldn't see his face as they walked next to each other, but had they seen him they would have seen him wracked with guilt.

"But why? Wouldn't he want to talk if he was worried about something?"

Mai shook her head. "You know, I don't pretend to know all the details with him, but I do think Joey's right. Maybe he's just figuring out who he is _aside_ from the puzzle."

Joey regarded Mai with an impressed look. That was exactly what he was thinking and pretty insightful from the usually abrasive duelist. "I'm sure he's fine Tea. And if he's not, we'll be there to help him if he asks, right?"

Tea nodded quietly, feeling outvoted. Suddenly they were at Duke's game shop and Duke came out without noticing them. Tea called to him and he turned to smile until he saw Joey.

Joey growled and chased Duke into the shop while Mai and Tea laughed hysterically.

* * *

Yugi woke up in a room with a huge window overlooking downtown Domino City. He realized he was in a lush, modern bed that was huge compared to his small frame. The sheets and everything else in the room was white, and the furniture was white with brushed metal and black accents. His hand was laying next to him on the pillow and he stared at it like some foreign object for a while before closing his eyes.

_Pharaoh_,_ where the hell am I_? He thought to his other half.

And then he closed his eyes and silently cursed himself. He must have really been out of it. It still happened every so often that he woke and forgot about the events that separated Yami from himself two years ago, and every single time it happened he berated himself for being so foolish.

He brought his hand up to clear the sleep from his eyes, when he noticed the bandage on his hand with a little bit of dried blood soaked through. Confusion met uncertainty and he turned his hand left and right to examine it. But then memories came rushing back in an unrelenting flood.

He had explained everything to Kaiba to the best of his ability while they drove through down-town Domino. Kaiba had asked very few questions and listened intently, especially when Yugi tried to describe the images that were haunting his mind and inducing a horrible headache. Yugi realized at that moment that he was definitely incapacitated and went to reach for his phone to call his grandfather, but he lost the strength to hold his phone up and he began to convulse with pain into almost what looked like a seizure.

Kaiba was looked shocked and wasn't sure what to do, so he grabbed the smaller duelist and tried to get him to stop shaking by holding him still. The episode passed and Yugi went limp in his arms, completely out.

The next thing he remembered were a bunch of doctors performing tests on him and one particularly significant look given to Seto by Mokuba. Yugi tried to ask what was going on, but one of the doctors had upped his IV drip and he fell back into a dreamless sleep.

He sat up and held his head in his hand, noticing that clean set of clothes where waiting for him at the edge of the bed. Funny enough, they were his size and looked _exactly_ like the clothes he was wearing, but they still had the tags on them from being brand new. Yugi just shook his head and got up slowly out of the bed.

The good news was that his headache was significantly decreased, but not completely gone. He felt well enough to stand and began to take off his clothes to put on the new ones.

Once he was dressed, he tried to make the bed, but found it was too big for him to get all the sheets completely straight, so he gave up, figuring Kaiba had maids to help with that.

He went to the door and opened it a crack to see a long, quiet hallway leading down to a bigger room at the end of the hall. It seemed like it was late morning based on the light streaming in from all the giant windows.

"Hey, you're awake!" came a cheerful voice from the bigger room. Mokuba walked over to him holding up cereal boxes. "Do you want the sugary, makes-you-hyper one, or the good for you bran one?"

Yugi smiled slightly and yawned. "I'm actually not hungry at all," he said, "...but thank you."

Mokuba smiled and went back to eating his own bowl. "Seto, Yugi is up," he said. Yugi walked into the expensive-looking kitchen and saw Kaiba seated at the table, reading a newspaper. He had several laid out in front of him from all over the world in many different languages.

Seto didn't put the paper down he was reading, but he did say, "I took the liberty of talking to your grandfather," he started to say, "...just so no one could accuse me of kidnapping you or anything."

Yugi looked relieved. "Kaiba, I don't know what to say-"

"A thank you would suffice-"

"-other than thank you," Yugi said overlapping with Kaiba. Mokuba chuckled a little and put his bowl in the sink. After seeing the look in Kaiba's steely blue eyes, he made his excuses and left for the elevator.

Yugi had noticed the exchange and sat down quietly at the table.

"I had to convince your grandfather not to come and make a scene," Kaiba said as he put the paper down. "My doctors were up most of the night trying to figure out what was wrong with you. They gave up when you started to look better."

Yugi stared quietly at Seto and then said, "If you are looking for compensation, I have some money from tournaments that I've won that I can-"

Kaiba waved a hand. "Helping you out made Mokuba happy, so that's not why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to tell you that you that my doctors were very disturbed by your condition, and they suggested that we hospitalized you."

Yugi's eyes went wide with shock. He hadn't realized he was that serious. "But I feel fine now so I don't understand."

Kaiba nodded. "My medical team doesn't know what to make of you. One second they are reviving you and the next your blood pressure and pulse goes back to normal as if nothing had ever happened. Yugi... I have to ask... Are you on drugs? Are you doping or anything?"

Yugi blinked and then burst into a fit of laughter.

Seto looked stricken and just sat there as Yugi laughed. "No- Kaiba," Yugi said as he tried to calm himself down. "Wow, that is why you were so serious..."

"The doctors told me that is the only explanation,"Seto muttered, throwing the newspaper back on the table. "Performance enhancing drugs that you overdosed on."

Yugi shook his head, still smiling. "That is not the _only_ explanation, Kaiba, just the one that makes the most sense to you."

Kaiba folded his arms across his chest and glared at the smaller duelist across the table. Yugi looked wan and tired, but not nearly the mess he was the night before. His eyes still had a haunted look to them, but Yugi was putting on a brave face. Yugi bit back a yawn, and it was all Seto could do to not yawn himself.

"I don't know what happened; it could have been just some weird fan who went crazy. I haven't been sleeping well lately, and maybe my body just decided to shut down." He examine his injured hand quietly and then looked up. "I've found myself falling asleep in random situations and then waking up with a start. It's been really weird."

Something alerted Kaiba in the back of his mind, but he disregarded it. He stood to refill his cup of coffee. "Well whatever it was, I'm not going to save your sorry ass again. Even for the sake of the Duel Academy."

Yugi narrowed his eyes. "What?" he asked. But then he realized what Kaiba meant, and he deflated a little in the modern metal chair he was seated in. "You wanted to protect the name of the Duel Academy..." he said, slightly hurt.

Kaiba poured the aromatic coffee into his white ceramic cup. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to.

"You were making sure I wasn't going to misrepresent your narrow win with your investors," Yugi continued. Kaiba was insinuating that he only helped him because of his future project with the academy, not out of any type of friendship that they might have. The thought saddened him a little. They had come so far together, only to have Kaiba still so... blind.

"If you are on drugs..." Kaiba began, letting his sentence hang like an idle threat.

Yugi snorted derisively. "For the record, I am not on drugs, as you will undoubtedly find out at the toxicology screen you did on my blood _without_ my permission," Yugi said. Kaiba looked up, but said nothing, confirming Yugi's accusation.

But then Yugi smiled. "I'm glad to know you care about Duel Monsters so much that you would protect the game at any cost," he said folding his arms on the table. "Even confronting the _king_ of the game." Kaiba was stirring his coffee and adding a little bit of sugar, but stopped momentarily. He continued to stir more vigorously than before.

Yugi smirked. He gotten to him, and he knew it. "But that still doesn't explain why you came to help me in the first place _before_ your doctors told you what might be wrong with me," he said as he stood from the table. He pushed his chair in, staring at the tall, silently fuming duelist. "You had no idea what you were getting into, and you could have called someone else to help me. But you came yourself." Yugi cocked his head and smiled softly, even thought Kaiba did not take his eyes off of his coffee.

"That just proves you _do _care about what happens to me," he said simply and even a touch cheerfully, "...and thank you for your concern." He walked out of the kitchen and down to the hallway to the elevator, grabbing his duel disk that sat conspicuously on a chair nearby. He got on the elevator and pressed for the lobby.

Kaiba stopped stirring and pulled the spoon out. His hand was shaking with fury.

He then swiped his hand across the counter, contacting with the coffee cup and sending it across the room to shatter hot coffee and ceramic across the wall.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the short update but hopefully it helps put things in perspective. I think updates might slow down a little through this weekend- I just found out that a good friend of mine drowned in a river nearby, but his funeral is 3 hours away. Between work, the funeral, and meeting with people from high school I haven't seen in forever, things have gotten a little hectic. I have the next chapter planned out, I just have to _execute_ it ;) The next chapter starts with something that gave me nightmares so... yeah. And I wrote it! ;~; lol

As always, a mighty hearty thank you to my reviewers, especially Keltish and Kura-love for your lovely reviews and friendly words. I'm so glad I'm hitting the characters in believable ways!

PS: Someone write this idea (I can't possibly do it anytime soon): Instead of Yugi getting the puzzle with Yami, Seto gets the Millenium Rod with _Priest Seto_ inside. Imagine the hilarity! I think it would be a great AU if it hasn't been done yet. Just take the idea- don't credit me. I just want to read _that._ lol- Have a good night all and I'll update soonish!


	6. Curse Your Courtesy

EDIT: Much love to Cactus Bob who saw a glaring lack of a break that made things confusing. I think I corrected the offending missing break; to be fair though, the original document had it I swears. Thanks again Cactus Bob for all your reviews so fast! :D

* * *

Pegasus sat at his cherry-wood desk, signing a check with an absurdly plumed pen. He always appreciated the _finer_ things in life, and he even made paying the electric bill as theatrical as possible at all times.

With a stroke, he signed his curved name, and he pulled his mail-opener to start investigating more of his mail. A good, _well-written_ letter was hard to find these days, but still he searched for an implacably attentive pen-pal. He had sent countless letters to maybe people through the years, even the stoic Kaiba, with the hopes that he could secretly converse with someone just as entertainment. Kaiba's had been "returned to sender" with a "cease and desist" letter attached to it. Oh well, not everyone could take a joke.

This particular letter that he held in his hand was addressed to him in simple calligraphy; not ostentatious, not drudgery. Just simple, clean, and elegant writing. No return address only intensified the mystery.

He opened it up, feeling his heart race slightly with jubilation; surely _this_ is the letter that he's been seeking for all these years?! Perhaps he had found the mind that was up to the task to converse with him upon topics unending?

And then a sigh, for the letter was a disappointment. It simply read,

"_Pegasus, your creation will be your undoing. Welcome to your nightmare."_

Pegasus scoffed. At least if he was going to get a threatening letter, it should at least _rhyme_. In fact, he clearly stated this on his fan website: "All flames and hate mail must be in iambic pentameter and rhyme." He thought it was worth a shot to improve the trolls' vocabulary. He _did _get a lot of hate-mail.

A giggle resounded from the hallway.

Pegasus snapped his head towards the sound and slowly lowered the letter in his hands. He heard a scuffling outside of his study door going down the hallway. Pegasus gripped the letter opener hard in his hand as he stood, walking towards the door. He put his back to the wall and peered out of the door, silently holding the golden letter opener up against his chest.

He heard another giggle around the corner and more shuffling, like something small running away.

Pegasus often hated the fact that he only had one working eye, especially at times like these. His peripheral vision was severely limited, and there was no way once he opened the door and walked out that he was going to be able to see everything that might be out there. Still, he steeled himself and opened the door quickly, trying to observe as much as possible.

Nothing. Just his ostentatiously fabulous furnishings with golden fringe and silk threads. He relaxed slightly only to feel something wrap around his left leg.

It was the Toon Summoned Skull. It was demonic in its presence with yellow, sunken eyes with red cornea and it's undead-looking skin drawn tight across an angular ribcage. The bottom of it resembled a genie tail since the card was most often paired with the card "Toon World" that both allowed it to be special summoned and protected it from attack. The Toon Summoned Skull licked its sharp teeth with its tongue which was dribbling globs of overly exaggerated drool.

Pegasus was both fascinated and repulsed. He shook his leg trying to dislodge the Duel Monster from his leg by shaking it, which only made the Summoned Skull make a whining noise. It did not deter it.

Pegasus then grabbed the monster by his horns to forcibly remove the creature from his leg. He pulled, and even though the Summoned Skull tried to hold on tight, he peeled off with a dramatic suction cup noise.

Pegasus held the monster at full arms-length away from him, slightly disturbed. "Is this some new hologram?" he asked turning the monster this way and that. Suddenly, there was a loud popping noise and Pegasus heard a loud _plop_ fall to the ground in front of him.

He now held the Summoned Skull's head in his hand, detached from his body. The monster's tongue lashed out wildly from his mouth as his eyes rolled back into his head.

Pegasus dropped it, surprised and even more disturbed. He pulled back against the door to his study and watched as the Toon monster's head bounced on the ground, egging on its body in rudely impatient tones.

From the other room entered the Toon Mermaid, bouncing along inside her cartoon shell, and the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon who flew in behind her. They started to laugh raucously as the Summoned Skull's body slithered around looking for its detached head. The Blue-Eyes screeched and batted at the head with his tail, passing it to the Mermaid. She regarded it for a moment before taking off her own head and placing the Summoned Skull head upon he body.

Pegasus had seen enough and turned around to enter his study and either mix a stiff drink, or try to sober up.

His study was locked.

He turned around to see the Toons staring at him with their wide, intelligent eyes. The Summoned Skull's body slithered up around his ankle and leg, wrapping around his torso and chest. This headless monster started to pull on his head, and for the life of him, he felt it start to come off much to his horror-

Pegasus woke up with his head face-down on his desk. He raised his head up and rubbed it, feeling a small welt where his head had fallen onto the desk. There was a blank piece of paper in his hand which he found odd, so he crumpled it up and conscientiously threw it in the recycling bin next to his desk.

He stood up and pulled out his deck from the top drawer of the desk. He sometimes liked to pull a card to figure out what the day was going to be like based on the card he drew.

He picked up the card and felt horrified.

The card was the Toon Summoned Skull. He put the card down and tried to figure out where that reaction was coming from but he could not figure it out. He put the deck away, deciding that he wasn't going to duel today after all.

* * *

Atem walked out of the Nile, relishing the feeling of the warm sand under his wet feet. He used some linen to dry himself off and decided to rest on the bank, letting the sun dry his wet attire as it draped close to his skin. The reeds nearby swayed gently in the breeze and made musical sounds as the wind ran across their hollow stalks. Crickets chirped and locusts whirred loudly in the brush and Atem felt his eyelids grow heavy.

There was the muffled tinkling of metal on metal and the muted sound of footsteps on the bank. Atem cracked an eye open to see the tall Seto standing there with his back to the sun.

"Hello, Seto," Atem said smiling. He closed his eyes again and stretched out in the sand, letting the warm sun splash over him and dry his clothes. "How are you?" he asked.

"I am well, my pharaoh," Seto said in his regal voice. He removed his priest's headdress and let the sun warm his tawny brown hair. He held the headdress and traced with his finger the Uraeus, or rearing serpent on the edge. "I'm not sure that in life I ever had a chance to swim in the Nile river for _fun_," he said matter-of-factually. "I was always busy with the scribes and taking tests."

"I'm pretty sure you swam in the Nile," Atem said, correcting him.

"I hate to argue with the great Pharaoh Atem, but I don't believe-"

"And I hate to argue with the great Pharaoh Seto, but I _know_ you did. And you had fun. Splashing me in the face when the high priests weren't looking."

Seto sat down next to Atem, regarding him skeptically. "When was this?"

Atem opened his eyes and turned to Seto with indignation. "The beginning of the Sokar festival. I was about 7 years old. We were standing in the Nile at waist-depth to ask blessings on the festival, and I think we were asking for a bountiful harvest when the Nile flooded later that year. It was the first time you were brought along for a high rite due to your brilliant intelligence, and I wanted to say hello since you were the only other person in attendance under the age of _forty_. I said hello, you _splashed my face._"

Seto then laughed. "I knew you were the prince, and I did not care at all..."

"No you did not. Definitely a shot to my ego," Atem replied, smiling despite his angry tone.

Seto made a full-bodied laugh. "Well, I apologize _my Pharaoh_, I had no idea you would take it so _personally_."

"No need to apologize at all, _my Pharaoh_. I probably deserved it, if only a little bit," Atem said chuckling. "How was your rule... afterward?"

"I would have to say Egypt was prosperous under my rule," Seto said thoughtfully. "Though there were always problems, and what with the sorry state of the economy you left us in..."

Atem laughed, even though Seto wasn't completely joking. He didn't correct him.

"New challenges arose; other people who wanted to destroy the wealth and power of Egypt and our kingdom. There was also a famine in later years that brought many people to our kingdom from far and wide; bringing new cultures, religions, and diseases into our midst. There were a lot of things that made my rule difficult... but nothing compared to ruling in the shadow of you."

Atem shifted quietly to his side, turning away from Seto. He watched the sun glitter on the river in the distance.

"Even though you only ruled for a short amount of time, you had lasting effects. Some that I could never live up to," Seto said with a touch of bitterness. "I wished I could have been so effective." Atem said nothing, as his violet eyes closed with regret.

"We built many statues to your memory, including an apparently famous tablet," Seto continued, laying down on the bank next to Atem, staring up into the sly of turquoise.

"Yes, I did see this famous tablet... It was very well-made. But thank you for making my short stature immortalized," he replied wryly. But when he heard Seto try to stifle a laugh, he laughed as well.

Atem then sat up, looking at Seto with excited eyes. "Let's play a game."

"What did you have in mind?" Seto asked, only mildly curious.

"Let's play Duel Monsters- can we do that? I haven't been able to find a deck."

Seto chuckled. "You need only ask the temple for that which you desire, and it will be granted to you. Come, let us ask the temple, and you can teach me. Is it really that much better than our summoning techniques?"

"No, no... I wouldn't say that. It's just... different. There's more of a set strategy in place rather than completely open field."

"Well let us see if the temple will grant you your wish." Seto stood and and held out a hand to his cousin to help him up. The smaller pharaoh was more slight of build than he, but commanded more of a presence with his shrewd violet eyes and unconventional hair. Atem gladly accepted the hand and pulled himself up without much effort.

They walked beside each other on the worn brick path that led to the temple. Even though the city where they now spent their afterlife was sprawling and huge, you never had to walk far to get where you wanted to be. It was just one of those things that you would think that you wanted to be somewhere and after a few minutes of walking you would suddenly be there.

It wasn't a large building, and perhaps it was deceivingly small like many of the temples and pyramids of Egyptian antiquity; there would be labyrinthine corridors below and hidden walls with rooms unnumbered. There were pristine fountains that fed turquoise pools of lily pads and pale pink and peach lotuses. Spiked papyrus plants lined the walkway leading up to the temple, and was also lined with bright, perpetual torches. Without noticing it, the sky had dimmed to a soft twilight in this part of the city, making it more mysterious. Atem did feel more reverent with the flame light flickering against the sandstone and alabaster columns.

Seto led him into an antechamber that had an altar and a large fire-pit with a rousing fire inside. The flame was three times as tall as the smaller pharaoh, and he looked upon it with awe. He had yet to visit this place in his introduction to the afterlife only because, apparently, he lacked for nothing.

Seto donned his headdress again, and pulling his arms to make an "x" across his chest as he knelt before the flames. "Great gods of our people, we come before you seeking the spoils of the afterlife!" he said, his voice reverberating through the room. Atem quickly knelt and bowed his head. Taking a cue from Seto's expecting look, he spoke up.

"Great gods, I beseech thee! Please give us access to the game of Duel Monsters from the time whence I came from with Yugi and Kaiba." Atem wasn't sure if specification was necessary, but he thought perhaps that he should say this in case they tried to send him cards from Jaden's or Yusei's time since he had met them when Paradox had tried to intervene with time.

The flame crackled loudly and then went silent. The silence was almost deafening for a moment, and Atem feared he had misspoke. There was a loud rush of air and the fire turned an electric blue, filling the antechamber with an eerie white light. Atem closed his eyes and tried to shield himself from the sight. But then the rushing stopped.

When Atem opened his eyes, there were two Duel Disks with two decks slightly smoking as if just forged from the flame itself. The smoke ceased and the fire returned to normal.

"It seems the gods have answered your request," Seto said dryly as he rose from his knees. He went to the Duel Disk and picked it up gingerly as if about to bite him. "This is what they use in the future?" he said, scowling slightly.

"Yes, in fact your future half _invented_ this system," Atem replied as he strapped the Duel Disk expertly to his wrist.

"It's not very asethetically... pleasing," Seto said frowning. He followed Atem's example and strapped the Duel Disk to his wrist, slightly surprised at the ergonomics of the device. It was rather well-balanced and comfortable to wear.

Atem chuckled. "Aesthetics are different in the future, and much less gilded in gold," he said, amused. "I think much of this game will come naturally to you as it did to me, but I will play with a handicap if it would suit you better."

"And what do you think I will say to that?"

"Well...I thought I might extend the courtesy."

"And I say curse your courtesy and curse your handicap. I will play like my future half."

"Very well," Atem said with his game voice. He felt the familiar rush of adrenaline and excitement as he went to pull his hand. As he drew his cards, he smiled. "I think you will have to play like your future half, because I believe you have his deck."

Seto again followed Atem's lead and drew five cards to start. "That explains why all of these monsters are unfamiliar." He frowned as he rapidly read the cards, which of course to him were in hieroglyphics.

"Really? I guarantee there will be some that are familiar to you," Atem said with a knowing look. "I'll go first and show you what a _master duelist_ looks like!"

And so, the game began.

* * *

Mai pressed her hand against her forehead as she waited for her opponent to finish his turn. Her head felt like it was about to split in two, but still she was sweeping the floor with this amateur that had won the lottery to play her at the Duelist convention. He was a tall, skinny teenager with short, navy hair, and very unimpressive clothing, at least by Mai's standards. Tiny beads of sweat formed from stress on her forehead, but still she dueled on. She needed only one more card to finish the game and this loud-mouthed kid's lifepoints.

"And I play 'Swords of Revealing Light!'" he cried setting the card down on his Disk.

Mai could have killed him. This flipped up her face down "Harpie Lady" that was in defense mode waiting for her dragon to accompany her on the field next turn. It didn't matter so much to her that he now knew her strategy as much as she had to wait three turns to end this damned duel.

Once "Harpie Lady" was flipped, however, she felt this creeping panic slide down her spine and into her back once the monster's hologram appeared on the field. The monster's back was to her, but something about the maroon/magenta hair and those sharp talons...

A shock of pain ran through her body and she swayed on her feet, catching herself right before she fell down and off the dueling platform. Some onlookers gasped and called out to her if she was alright, and she waved them off with a look of pure determination on her face. As she went to draw her card for her turn she swallowed back bile that had surged to the back of her throat.

She looked at her opponent. Did she see a smile tugging at his lips?

He knew she was struggling and wouldn't last three turns.

Mai pulled all of her remaining strength into pulling a card, and sure enough, it was the right one. "And this is why... I am the expert... not you," she said with ragged breath.

She held up the card she had drawn, "Heavy Storm." "This card destroys all spell and trap cards on the field," she announced much to the awe of the assembled crowd. "This card destroys 'Swords of Revealing Light' and allows me to attack in the same turn. Thank you for flipping..."

She was about to say "Harpie Lady" but something stopped her. Aside from the coursing pain she had in her head, the rising fear she began to feel only increased. Her knees shook with pain. Oddly her shoulder hurt, and she felt the odd sensation of her hands being wet. But she looked at them and there was nothing wrong with them. "Thank you for flipping my card... and now attack!"

Her opponent looked surprised and absolutely pissed. She couldn't help but smile, even as she was doubled-over from the blinding pain in her head. His sharp hazel eyes flicked at her with disgust.

Then he placed his hand over his deck, ending the duel with surrender and stealing a complete victory from her. It was such a bad sportsmanship move to end the duel right before the final attack was called, and the crowd was not pleased. Mai knew she had done the same thing at Duelist's Kingdom, and the coincidence was not lost on her. Still, without a final word, the duelist opponent had stepped down from the stage and walked out the convention without saying even looking back.

Mai stumbled from the stage and was aided by some _very_ helpful young men who helped her get to the information desk where a very stressed young man looked at her with distraught.

"Not you too! What is _happening_?!" he cried, looking like he was about to pull his hair out.

"What do... you mean?" she said, using a hand to lean against the registration table.

The attendant waved his arms, indicating the entire convention. "_Every_ duelist we asked to participate starts dueling and then comes down with some kind of sickness. Headaches? Chills? Weird hallucinations?"

Mai blinked and nodded despite her head hurting like hell.

"If it's the food or something in the hotel, I promise we will sue like crazy," he said. "This is monstrous."

She waved him off and said, "My next event is a Q&A this afternoon, so I'm going to go lie down until then, okay?"

He nodded emphatically and then looked like he stressed out again. "This is a nightmare! First Yugi Moto doesn't show up, and now everyone is sick! I can't possibly refund everyone."

Mai stopped and stared at the man with shock. "Yugi... never showed up?"

"Didn't call or anything!"

Mai cradled her head in her hand and pulled out her phone to try and call Joey, but she passed out before she could complete the call.

* * *

AN: Thank you to all my readers! If it's not too much trouble can you just shoot me a little note that you like where it is going? Pwease? I figured out how to hyperlink so that you can check out the awesome writers that are reviewing my stuff, so that it's a love-fest all around. :D

YinYangWriter: Thank you for your review! The nightmare stuff is new to me, with the horror/suspense. Trying it out. I'm glad you're sticking with it! :)

Nightshade Malachai: Thank you! Maybe someday I'll find the time ;) And thanks for telling me you like it, it means a lot.

reaper711: I hope you enjoyed this last chapter! :)

Next update will be a few days- but we'll get to see more of the villains! :D


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